Sunday, June 18, 2006

A sketch of American Muslims: How do Muslims compare with others in America? I haven't seen many systematic descriptions of this community. Here's some stats from the GSS:

Mean ageU.S. 45.3Muslims 36.9

Percent maleU.S. 45.3 (females are more often home when interviewer visits)Muslims 68.5

Percent blackU.S. 14.4Muslim 37.0

Percent foreign-bornU.S. 9.3Muslims 72.2

Percent not finishing high schoolU.S. 14.6Muslims 13.0

Percent with at least bachelor'sU.S. 24.9Muslims 31.5

Percent unemployedU.S. 5.1Muslims 1.9

Occupational prestigeU.S. 43.6Muslims 44.6

Conservative scaleU.S. 4.11Muslims 3.69

"Does not value citizenship" scaleU.S. 1.40Muslims 2.20

Average number of childrenU.S. 1.96Muslims 1.59

Church attendance scaleU.S. 3.89Muslims 4.64

Compared to the general American population; Muslims are younger; more male; blacker; more likely to have been born in another country; and more likely to have a bachelor's degree or higher. They are less likely to be without a job; they have similar occupational success; they are more liberal (contrary to what some conservatives have said); they value citizenship less (like all immigrants); they have fewer children; and they are more religious.

So they look somewhat different from the overall population, but perhaps they are not much different from many other immigrant group, except for being more religious and have a greater number of blacks in their ranks. It might be a good idea for me to compare them with immigrants next, and to look more deeply into their politics and religious beliefs. Is there anything you want me to look for?

A comparison of Black Muslims (NOI) and the rest of the Muslim community would be good.

An ethnic breakdown of the different Muslim groups would be good as well.

It would be interesting to see if the GSS asked them any Islamic specific questions such as "Do you take the Koran literally?" or "Should blasphemy of Islam be punishable under the law?".

Lastly, if it's feasible I would be interested to know what decade most Muslims came over to America. Muslim Albanians came rather early (pre-1965) and some Lebanese Muslims did as well. Has the rate of Muslim immigration gone up since 9/11?

Profile

"The creation myth was the essential bond that held the tribe together. It provided its believers with a unique identity, commanded their fidelity, strengthened order, vouchsafed law, encouraged valor and sacrifice, and offered meaning to the cycles of life and death. No tribe could survive long without the meaning of its existence defined by a creation story. The option was to weaken, dissolve, and die." ~ E.O. Wilson